1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a sliding roof for a convertible vehicle. More particularly, it relates to a sliding roof, in which roof panels for a convertible vehicle are packaged in a sliding manner and stored in a trunk.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, a convertible vehicle is provided with a movable roof capable of being opened and closed with respect to a vehicle body. When the vehicle roof is opened, the roof is stored in a trunk in a folding or sliding manner to be used as an open car, and the opened roof can be closed over the vehicle body, if necessary.
FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a conventional convertible vehicle.
As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional convertible vehicle includes a front roof 10 being in contact with a windshield frame, a middle roof 20 disposed to be separated from the rear of the front roof 10, and a rear roof 30 disposed to be separated from the rear of the middle roof 20.
Such roof panels are stacked in a folding or sliding manner by a plurality of link means and an actuator and selectively accommodated in the rear of the vehicle, and a main mechanism 40 for the accommodation is provided.
A roof connecting device for connecting the front and rear ends of each of the front, middle, and rear roofs 10, 20, and 30 is provided. Moreover, the front roof 10 may be divided into a sunroof 11 and a side pillar 13 disposed on each of both sides of the sunroof 11.
The roof for the conventional convertible vehicle having the above-described configuration is opened in the following manner. First, the sunroof 11 of the front roof 10 slides on the middle roof 20, the rear roof 30 moves on the middle roof 20 and the sunroof 11 in a folding manner to form a roof package intermediate L, and the roof package intermediate L is entered into the vehicle trunk by the main mechanism 40.
However, the roof for the conventional convertible vehicle has the problem that, since the rear roof 30 moves on the middle roof 20 and the sunroof 11 in a folding manner, it occupies a larger trunk space than a sliding roof (refer to FIG. 5).
Moreover, since the roof package intermediate L is formed in the position of the middle roof 20, the link length of the main mechanism 40 is somewhat increased and, therefore, the main mechanism 40 needs a driving device capable of outputting high power, thus reducing the volume of the vehicle trunk (refer to FIG. 4).
Since only the sunroof 11 slides when the roof panels of the conventional convertible vehicle are packaged, the side pillars 13 of the front roof 10 protrude toward a rear seat of the vehicle, thus reducing the rear space of the vehicle. Furthermore, an additional driving device for opening the side pillars of the front roof 10 to both sides is required to ensure the space of the rear seat.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.